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“Apple juice? That’s all you’ve got? Okay, whatever. That’ll have to do.” Jackson took the bottle from the fridge and began rummaging for glasses.

She fisted her hands by her side and forged ahead. “Jack, can you tell me what happened to you?”

“Best cruise ever,” Garrett said.

“Cruise? Which line?”

“Apokryphos,” Jackson said. “New, small, totally exclusive. Great food. Super amenities. Nice crowd.”

“Really?” she said faintly. “A crowd?”

“Yeah, John was a lot of fun.”

“Nicky needs to chill, though,” Garrett said.

“Cassidy seemed to have a good time, too, before she got seasick. Which reminds me. Is her father around? We should probably let him know she’s okay.”

“He…he left days go.” Samantha’s head spun. “What about Kambyses?”

Jackson finished pouring juice into three glasses. “Who?”

“The vampire you were going to kill?”

Garrett gave her a have-you-lost-your-mind look. “The what?”

“Do you have any munchies to go with this?” Jackson asked, opening random cabinet doors.

“Oh, good idea, Jack. I could use something to eat.”

“Corner cabinet,” she whispered and backed away several steps. When she reached the sofa, she spoke out of the corner of her mouth. “Serge, what’s happening here?”

His saucered eyes remained riveted to the men in the kitchen. “Such power,” he said with unabashed wonder.

“What? Them?” She glanced back, and an army of dread swarmed over her skin on needle feet. The duo amusing themselves in her house at four-thirty in the morning looked like her baby brother and no-good step-uncle, but they were strangers. Terrifying strangers. “They’re compelled, aren’t they?”

“Yes. They are. In a way I have never seen before.”

She grabbed hold of his arm. “Can you undo it?”

“Me?” The question was a squeak lost in the sound of a Mylar bag getting torn open.

“Veggie chips,” Garrett said, fishing around inside. Both he and Jackson still had their backs turned to Samantha and Serge. “Don’t think I’ve had these before.”

“Knowing Sam, be glad it’s not straight-up celery sticks,” Jackson countered and grabbed a handful of the chips.

Samantha lowered her voice to a hiss. “Of course, you. Do you see any other vampires here?”

Serge shook his head. “No, I cannot.”

“Try.”

The fearsome pirate shrank deeper into the cushions. “What must be, will be.”

“Are you freaking serious? This is my brother you’re talking about. You can’t leave him like this for—what?—‘til the end of next week? The rest of his life?”

“I am but a witness. Never a part of anything. Don’t you see?”

“That didn’t stop you meddling when Garrett nearly tortured Dominique to death, did it?”